We need to be careful how we treat others. Tonight I was reading a few verses on hospitality
Romans 12:13 New International Version (NIV)
13 Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
Hebrews 13:2 New International Version (NIV)
2 Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.
and it really made me start to think about how I treat others and I realized that at times, I am not such a nice person. This is especially true while driving, there seems to be a switch that goes off in me while I am in a vehicle. I expect no demand that people drive and behave in a way that they realize they are driving a killing machine and need to treat people nicely. There is no reason to tailgate and drive like a nut job. You can only go as fast as the vehicle in front of you, but at the same time those people in the left lane going slower than the speed limit need to get over.
Recently, while driving my daughter to her summer job, I had the opportunity to behave in a way that would be considered more hospitable. Instead, I ended up flipping two or three people off. I justified it as saying I was not doing anything wrong. In one instance, I was going the speed limit or slightly over and had just finished passing a tractor trailer. This truck came flying up behind me and expected me to either go faster than the speed limit or get over when he wanted me to get over. I did neither. He then tried to pass me on the right, but if he had waited 10 seconds I would have been in the right lane. He gets up beside me and starts ranting and throwing his hands in the air. I let him pass for a few seconds, then I sped up and flipped him off and then went on down the road. He ended up backing way off. I guess he must have thought that I was a nut job.
Why did I do this? Was it really that important that I let this person dictate how I would act? Was it so important to let him know that I was not happy with him? Did it really matter? Why did I think that was ok behavior? I really have no answer for this other than to say it was not ok for me to act this way.
Tonight’s scripture really had me thinking, that the person in the truck that I interacted with could have been an angle. Whenever you meet anyone, you should strive to be hospitable for you never know who it is you are interacting with. It is not easy with today’s society. People seem to be hateful and mean and it is way to easy to act in a way that God might consider unacceptable.
I pray that if you are finding yourself acting in an inhospitable way, that you realize your behavior and can change it now before it becomes too late. It might just change the rest of your life to act more friendly and generous towards others.